Empress of Asia on fire and sinking, port view, 5 February 1942 (Australian War Memorial P01604.001).
Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese continue to tighten their grip on Singapore on 5 February 1942. The British retain access to the sea, but complete Japanese control of the air that makes all sea transits extremely dangerous for them. Canadian 16,909-ton troopship RMS Empress of Asia is part of Convoy BM-12 and is approaching Singapore's western approaches when nine Japanese dive-bombers appear. They focus on the Empress of Asia, setting it afire. The ship makes it to Sultan Shoal, where it anchors. Australian sloop HMAS Yarra successfully executes an extremely dangerous maneuver and comes alongside, taking off 1804 survivors of the crew and 18th British Division. HMAS Bendigo picks up 78 men in the water, and HMAS Wollongong later rescues two more, the Empress of Asia's master and chief engineer. Only sixteen men perish, all in the initial attack. After everyone who survived is rescued, the Empress of Asia sinks near Sultan Shoal. More important than the loss of the ship itself (which could have taken off refugees from Singapore) is the loss of all the military equipment on board which is badly needed by the British and Chinese defenders on the island.
Empress of Asia on fire and sinking, starboard view, 5 February 1942 (Australian War Memorial P01604.002).
On land in Singapore, the situation is growing dire for the British. Japanese commander General Tomoyuki Yamashita ostentatiously moves into the former Imperial Palace of the Sultan of Johore on the northern side of the causeway. This gives him a panoramic view of the causeway and the north shore of Singapore Island. This creates an appearance that the Japanese invasion will come at the causeway, which British Lieutenant-General Ernest Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, expects. Percival reinforces the area along the coast west of the causeway. General Yamashita currently plans his invasion for 9 February 1942 and refuses to leave the palace despite British artillery fire. He correctly surmises that the British will not shell the palace itself for fear of angering the native Johor population. British Major-General Gordon Bennett, in command of the artillery, is informed by Australian spotters of Yamashita's presence but does exactly as Yamashita expects - he does not shell the palace.
Everyone in Singapore (but not overseas) knows that the British are in trouble, and that includes the locals. They do not want their island to become a battleground. and there are many spies for the Japanese (some or all being Japanese Army infiltrators). They previously have built fortifications for the British with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. The British defense of Singapore thus is compromised from within as well as vulnerable due to geography.
In the Philippines, the US Army I Corps in the western half of the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) plans a major operation to eliminate the several Japanese pockets that remain behind the MLR. The Japanese are pushed back at the Quinauan Point pocket and now are in a desperate situation. At Corregidor, the submarine USS Seadragon loads up 21 Army and Navy personnel, 1000 pounds of communications equipment, 23 torpedoes, and 4000 of submarine spare parts and departs for Java.
The pressure on British defenses along the Salween River in eastern Burma is growing. The Japanese are infiltrating around the Indian troops defending the river line and preparing to dislodge them. General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, visits the area to the west of the river opposite Moulmein. This is the key defensive line in eastern Burma and its loss would be a terrific blow to the Allied position there.
The Imperial Japanese Navy sends seven flying boats to bomb Port Moresby at 03:00. They hit an ammunition (aminol) dump and cause damage in town. Air attacks at 09:15 and 10:20 damage Lae, New Guinea.
RMS Empress of Asia during its service with Canadian Pacific Steamships.
Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht on 5 February 1942 achieves another important goal in its continuing recovery from the Red Army counteroffensive at Moscow. Following a six-day attack through blinding snowstorms and over icy roads, Ninth Army's 46th Panzer Corps makes contact with XXIII Corps near Rzhev. This restores another supply route to German forces trapped in the East and creates a pocket around Soviet Twenty-Ninth Army south of Rzhev. This large Red Army force is now trapped between very weak German lines which could easily be routed or simply bypassed in isolated places. However, the Stavka still (with some justification) believes that its troops remain on the offensive and at this time has no plans to retreat. Thus, both sides believe they hold the initiative and are operating almost with disregard for what the other side is doing.
European Air Operations: A winter lull in operations continues following an abortive RAF minelaying attempt on 4 February. The Luftwaffe launches various missions against shipping and sinks 3431-ton collier SS Corland in the Thames Estuary. All 27 men aboard survive.
HMS Arbutus (K 86), sunk by U-136 on 5 February 1942.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-136 (Kptlt. Heinrich Zimmermann), on its first patrol out of Bergen, torpedoes and sinks 925-ton British corvette HMS Arbutus (K 86) in the North Atlantic about 340 miles northwest of Erris Head, Ireland. There are 42 deaths, including the commander, and 33 survivors (one of whom soon expires of exposure).
U-103 in 1941/42, showing its 3.7 cm Flak gun (Weiß, Federal Archive Bild 101II-MW-3930-23A).
U-103 (Kptlt. Werner Winter), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes, shells, and sinks 8403-ton US tanker China Arrow about 170 miles (282 km) off the Delaware coast and northeast of Norfolk, Virginia. Everyone on board, all 37 men, survive after taking to the boats and being spotted by aircraft on 7 February. China Arrow takes 81,773 barrels of fuel oil to the bottom with it. The ship's master, Paul H. Browne, receives the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for staying with the radio operator on the ship and setting up an emergency radio transmitting to inform the Coast Guard of the incident and giving the position.
U-103 also torpedoes and sinks 8327-ton US tanker India Arrow in the same area. There are 12 survivors and 26 dead, and the ship takes 88,369 tons of diesel fuel with it. This sinking is sometimes listed as having occurred on 4 February 1942.
U-109 (Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, shells and sinks 3531-ton Panamanian collier SS Halcyon about 300 miles northeast of Bermuda. The date of this sinking is uncertain, some sources place it as taking place at 23:00 on 5 February 1942, others on the morning of 6 February 1942. There are three deaths and 27 survivors.
GMC CCKW 353 2½-ton 6x6 cargo truck, aka the "Jimmy" or the "Deuce and a Half." These and its variants were built in large numbers between 1941 and 1945 for the U.S. Army and its allies. The Afrika Korps captured many of these in North Africa.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Following the Afrika Corps' whirlwind advance past Benghazi, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel calls a halt to the advance. He consolidates his forces by pulling back his most advanced units to Tmimi ("At Tamimi") and focuses on stocking up on supplies. The British likewise consolidate their defenses at the Gazala Line. This begins a long period when both sides build up their forces and wait for the other side to make the next move. While the Germans have not reached some major objectives such as Tobruk or the Egyptian frontier, they have dramatically improved the Axis hold on the Mediterranean. Now, Allied convoys to Malta must pass close to Luftwaffe bases either in Crete or near Benghazi. The Afrika Korps also benefits from captured British vehicles (American lend-lease 2-1/2 ton trucks) and stores. In Benghazi, Rommel is delighted to find that the British never removed his own former ammunition stocks which he had been forced to leave behind during the December retreat. His troops badly need this ammunition and put it to good use.
About 23:00 on 5 February 1942, U-109 shells and sinks 3530-ton Panamanian collier SS Halcyon (shown) while en route from Halifax to Demerara.
Partisans: The partisan uprising in the Balkans has captured the imagination of the Allies. Today, in Operation Disclaim, a British Force 133 airborne mission by the Special Operations Executive begins. Two British and two Yugoslav soldiers, under the command of Major Cavan Elliot, drop into the countryside to the east of Sarajevo. Their mission is to link up with Colonel Draža Mihailovic’s Četnik royalist resistance. However, Croat forces allied with the Germans quickly catch the four men and hand them over to the Germans.
Iranian/Vichy French Relations: The Iranian government, now completely under the control of the Allies, severs relations with Vichy France.
Fifth Air Force is formed on 5 February 1942. Previously, it had been the Air Office of the Philippine Department, formed in March 1912, and later the Philippine Army Air Corps, established in 1935, and then the Philippine Department Air Force, activated on 20 September 1941, and then the Far East Air Force, established on 16 November 1941. The USAF Fifth Air Force continues in the 21st Century.
US Military: The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) decides to change the names of its overseas air forces to remove place names and replace them with numbers. This would, among other things, avoid future embarrassment if the location of a particular air force is lost, thus making its name an anachronism. The USAAF Far East Air Force (FEAF) historically based in the Philippines becomes the Fifth Air Force, the Hawaiian Air Force becomes the 7th Air Force, the Alaskan Air Force becomes 11th Air Force, and so on. The newly designated USAAF 5th Air Force sends its 91st Bombardment Squadron (Light) and 27th Bombardment Group (Light) from Brisbane, Queensland, to Malang, Java. The ground echelon remains with General Douglas MacArthur on Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands. During the month, 37 B-17Es and 12 LB-30s of the 7th Bombardment Group assemble under the Fifth Air Force umbrella in Java.
The U.S. Navy activates US Naval Operating Base, Londonderry in County Derry, Ireland. This becomes the key base for transatlantic convoys.
The 1942 Oldsmobile B-44. It includes Fuselage Fenders and Double-Duty Bumpers. The name is an homage to USAAF bomber designations.
American Homefront: "Woman of the Year," directed by George Stevens and starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, opens at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. It goes into general release on 19 February. Michael Kanin and Ring Lardner, Jr. will win the award for Best Original Screenplay, and Katharine Hepburn will be nominated for Best Actress. This is an influential movie that will lead to a successful Broadway show in 1981 starring Lauren Bacall.
The last Oldsmobile rolls off the Lansing production line on February 5, 1942. These last automobiles are hampered by wartime shortages and include workarounds such as steel pistons and painted exterior trim. However, they are fully functional and include your choice of a 100- or 110-horsepower engine. "Big, broad-shouldered, commanding."
Future History: Roger Thomas Staubach is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He enters the U.S. Naval Academy in 1960 and wins the Heisman Trophy as a football quarterback in 1963. After serving in the U.S. Navy from his graduation to 1969, including a year in Vietnam as a supply officer, Staubach joins the Dallas Cowboys. He leads his team to the Super Bowl five times, four times as the starting quarterback, including two victories. Roger Staubach later is named to both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In November 2018, President Donald Trump confers upon Roger Staubach the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"True Sport Picture-Stories," February 1942, featuring "Joe DiMaggio - True Story of the Diamond's Greatest Hero."
"Singapore. Two women sit on the street among rubble and debris wailing and crying, showing their grief for the small child whose dead body lies nearby in front of a damaged rickshaw after a Japanese air attack." 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/22).
Eastern Front: The Germans achieve a major success on 3 February 1942 when they clear the vital supply road to Fourth Army that runs from Yukhnov to Gzhatsk. German XII Corps and the 20th Panzer Division blast their way through Red Army roadblocks and "bridge the gap," thereby allowing resupply to the beleaguered army. There are Soviet forces on either side of the road - Soviet Thirty-third Army to the west and Forty-third Army to the east - and the corridor (which includes the nearby railway line) is only a few miles wide in places. However, for the first time in over a week, General Heinrici's Fourth Army can get the supplies that it needs to survive. Now, the Soviets to the west of the corridor begin to worry that they may be the ones who are trapped. However, German strength along the Rollbahn (as the Germans call the road) is very weak, and supply convoys must have armed escorts to fight their way through at times.
In Finland, General Mannerheim sends a letter in response to a German request that Finnish forces resume an advance toward the Murmansk railway line. It says that Finnish troops would be unavailable to advance toward Belomorsk, the chosen point of attack, during the winter. The letter leaves few doubts in German minds that Mannerheim has become pessimistic about the course of the war and is unlikely to mount any offensive operations until the Red Army is basically defeated.
Luftwaffe ace Rolf Kaldrack (24+ victories, 3 in Spain) is killed in his Messerschmitt Bf 110 E-1 "S9+IC" (Werksnummer 4057 (factory number)) south of Toropets when his plane collides with a Mig-1 that he or his gunner (Unteroffizier Enke, also killed) had just shot down. He posthumously is awarded the 70th Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
British freighter SS Pinna, bombed and destroyed by Japanese aircraft after leaving Singapore on 3 February 1942.
Battle of the Pacific: The British Commonwealth troops have withdrawn into their island fortress of Singapore. They have troops manning the coast and have blown the only causeway to the mainland. The Japanese, however, are just across the Singapore Strait and not ready to eliminate this last Allied presence on the Malay Peninsula. Today, they bring up their heavy artillery and begin shelling the island. The British counter-fire, but they are hampered by the lack of high explosive shells. The armor-piercing shells available, which would be ideal against a naval attack, are ill-suited for land targets. While the port of Singapore remains open, using it is proving increasingly hazardous. The Japanese continue bombing Singapore and sink 10,224-ton British cargo liner Talthybius (later salvaged by the Japanese and put in service as Taruyasu Maru). Another British freighter, 4958-ton Loch Ranza, is bombed by Japanese planes and sunk while en route from Singapore to Batavia. The captain beaches the ship, but there it blows up. The Loch Ranza crew escapes and is rescued by HMAS Toowoomba. British 6121-ton tanker Pinna is hit during the same raid, also is beached, and also is lost on 3 February 1942.
"Singapore. Smoke rises from a demolished building on Rochor Canal Road (note the fallen signpost) after the air attack by the Japanese. A burnt-out vehicle lies on its side in front of the ruins of the wrecked building." 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/31).
An air battle begins over Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea. The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy bombers attack while the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) defend. The Allies at this time are severely handicapped by lack of aircraft and other equipment, relying at the start of the battle solely on their Australian Army anti-aircraft batteries and other ground fire. Port Moresby is protected less by troops at this point than by its relative isolation, as it is extremely difficult to reach across mountain trails and any seaborne invasion must make a huge loop to the east that exposes the attacking ships to attacks from Allied naval forces and land-based bombers.
"Singapore. Neither the cattle nor their attendant seems in the least perturbed by smoke billowing from a nearby blaze, the result of a Japanese air raid." 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/30).
In the Netherlands East Indies, the last Allied holdouts on Ambon Island surrender. At Laha, the Japanese have captured the island's most important airfield and the defending Australians have been greatly reduced in numbers. The Australian commander at Laha, Lieutenant Commander Scott, surrenders in the morning, while a separate Allied force at Kudamati surrenders a few hours later. These surrenders lead to the Laha Massacre (see below). About 30 Australian soldiers manage to melt into the jungle and eventually find means of escaping. Among other strategic effects of the Japanese capture of Ambon, it places Japanese land-based bombers within range of Darwin, Australia (see 19 February 1942).
Singapore. Singapore firefighters quelling a blaze with their water hoses after a bombing raid by the Japanese. 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/27).
In the Philippines, the US Army II Corps reestablishes its line on the Pilar River after the Japanese finish evacuating their bridgehead there. The Allies continue trying to reduce the handful of Japanese pockets behind the main front, with little success. The Japanese Air Force launches an air raid on Singosari Airdrome which destroys four fully loaded USAAF B-17 bombers, adding a fifth B-17 which they shoot down nearby. Another Japanese raid at Soerabaja destroys three Royal Netherlands Navy Catalina flying boats and a USAAF B-18 Bolo bomber. The B-18 also is shot down in flight, killing all aboard (including some badly needed radar technicians). USAAF P-40s based at Blimbing Airdrome manage to intercept the Japanese planes and shoot down two fighters and a bomber at a cost of one P-40 of their own.
"Singapore. Black smoke billows into the air from a timber yard ablaze after a Japanese air attack." 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/29).
In Burma, the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers" continue their successful air operations against attacking Japanese aircraft. Pilots of the 2nd Squadron shoot down a Japanese Army bomber over Toungoo Airdrome at about 16:00. Off Palembang, Japanese aircraft sink 5424-ton Dutch freighter Sudabar.
European Air Operations: A lull in operations due to winter weather that began on 1 February continues today.
MV Amerikaland, sunk by U-106 on 3 February 1942.
Battle of the Atlantic: It is another good day for the German U-boats operating off of the eastern United States coast as part of Operation Paukenschlag. U-106 (Kptlt. Hermann Rasch), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 15,339-ton Swedish freighter Amerikaland about 90 miles east of Virginia Beach. The Amerikaland is an independent which is hit by the first torpedo at 03:23 on 3 February 1942. Everyone manages to take to the boats, but five crewmen later die of exposure due to a snowstorm and generally frigid weather. Fifteen men survive.
"Singapore. Soldiers and civilians co-operate in rescuing wounded from damaged buildings after bombing in Japanese air attacks." 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/18).
U-103 (Kptlt. Werner Winter), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and shells 3627-ton Panamanian banana boat San Gil about 15 miles south of Fenwick Island, Delaware, lighthouse. The ship goes down after the crew abandons it in two lifeboats which are picked up later in the day by USS Nike. There are two dead (killed when the torpedo hits the engine room) and 39 survivors. This sinking is sometimes dated on 4 February 1942, with the time of the attack variously reported as 23:50 on the 3rd and 06:43 on the 4th.
SS San Gil, sunk off the Delaware coast on 3 (or 4) February 1942.
The battle of the small boats along the English Channel continues with great ferocity. British motor gunboats sink German freighters Hermann (a 114-ton schooner) and Schleswig-Holstein (174 tons) off the coast of Brittany. The sinking of the Schleswig-Holstein is sometimes erroneously dated to August 1942, but that apparently was another ship, perhaps of the same name.
Singapore. Smoke haze over the city after bomb attacks by Japanese. 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/07).
Battle of the Mediterranean: German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel presses forward on the advance from Benghazi. The Afrika Korps captures Timimi. The British follow orders from General Ritchie and fall back toward the Gazala Line, evacuating Derna. This leaves Derna in German hands again almost exactly a year after they captured it in early 1941.
Off Tunisia, HMS Umbra (Lt. S.L.C. Maydon) torpedoes and badly damages 6142-ton Italian freighter Napoli. The captain of the Napoli acts fast and beaches the ship about 30 miles east of Sousse, Tunisia. This maneuver is successful, but aircraft destroy the beached freighter on 11 February.
A Soviet propaganda leaflet dropped on German positions in February 1942. It begins: "News from the Front. German soldiers! The German army has suffered great losses. It is doomed. You can conceal this. Read the truth about the situation at the front." It continues on to describe how the Red Army is pushing back the Germany Army around Moscow.
War Crimes: The little-remembered battle of Ambon Island leads to one of the least-remembered massacres of the early months of the Pacific war. The Japanese spend the next fortnight murdering prisoners of war, including more than 300 Australian and Dutch soldiers near Laha Airfield. Among those executed are Commander Scott and Major Mark Newbury, both of whom led peace delegations and entered Japanese lines under flags of truce. The surviving Allied prisoners are horribly mistreated with 405 of 582 who remained in Japanese prisons perishing by 1945. This leads to a war crimes trial in 1946 which results in death sentences and imprisonment of those involved. This incident is recounted in the film "Blood Oath" (1990).
The reverse side of a Soviet propaganda pamphlet dropped on German troops in February 1942. "“IT IS EASIER TO DIE, THAN TO BEAR SUCH AGONY."
Allied Relations: Following a difficult period in British-Chinese relations due to disputes about American lend-lease equipment, Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek agrees to send the Chinese 6th Army into Burma. This allows the British to consolidate their own dispositions in the theater, and today they send the Indian 48th Brigade to the sector controlled by the Indian 17th Division.
US Military: The Far East Air Force shifts thirteen P-40s of the 20th Pursuit Squadron from Darwin, Australia, to Java.
Canadian Military: The Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force becomes the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women's Division).
British Military: The British activate Port T, a top-secret naval base on Addu Atoll. This is a remote island southwest of the tip of India.
German Berlin police leaders General of Police Kurt Daluge, right, and SS-Gruppenführer Dr. Ernst Grawitz meet at the Kurmark Police Station, 3 February 1942.
British Homefront: The government sets maximum prices for certain types of clothing. For instance, the maximum price for a suit is set at £4 18s 8d.
American Homefront: Major League Baseball owners meet and decide to allow fourteen night games for each club (the Washington Senators get 21) this season. They also schedule two All-Star games, one with a military all-star team. They set a curfew for all night games, with no inning to start after 00:50.
Singapore. Some of the city buildings with smoke rising from fires caused by bombing in Japanese air attacks, only days before the Japanese landed on the island. 3 February 1942 (Bottomley, Clifford, Australian War Memorial 011529/01).
US Coast Guard Cutter USS Alexander Hamilton launching a boat as it sinks on 29 January 1942.
Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese continue tightening their grip on the Netherlands East Indies on 29 January 1942 by landing at Badoeng Island and Mampawan on Celebes Island. After RAAF aerial reconnaissance spots a Japanese convoy near Ambon Island, the Dutch order Australian engineers to destroy infrastructure on the island at Laha.
The headline of the Brooklyn Eagle on 29 January 1942 is "M'Arthur Routs Foe Again."
In the Philippines, the Allied troops battle ferociously to hold the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) and eliminate Japanese pockets to its south. In the western I Corps sector, Allied troops of the 1st and 11th Division of the Philippine Army battle the Big and Little Pockets, which are just south of the MLR. Further south, the Japanese bridgeheads at Canaan Point and Anyasan Bay continue to hold out. However, the Allies score a major success by eliminating the Japanese holdouts at Longoskawayan Point, where the 2d Battalion of the Philippine 57th Infantry is assisted by minesweeper USS Quail (AM-15).
Japanese prisoners are taken prisoner by the Chinese at the Battle of Changsha, January 1942 (Office of War Information Photograph Lot 11614-4, National Museum of the US Navy via Flickr).
On the Malay Peninsula, Commonwealth troops continue withdrawing to Singapore Island from the mainland. The pace of the retreat across the Straits of Johor is accelerating and local workers are building fortifications on the north shore of Singapore Island. US naval transports USS Wakefield and West Point, part of Convoy B.M. 11, arrive at Singapore carrying elements of the British 18th Division as reinforcements, and other ships from India bring light tanks to help in the defense. Also arriving in the convoy are ground elements of three RAF fighter squadrons. These are the only Allied tanks to participate in the campaign. In the air, USAAF FEAF B-17s are operating from Palembang, Sumatra, and attack Kuantan Airfield.
The Australian defenders on the mainland move into the "Outer Bridge Head" 2 miles outside Johore Bahru. The 2/19 Battalion hold to the right, the 2/20 is in the center, and the Gordon Highlanders are to the left. They have 2 regiments of artillery support. They will cross the Causeway to Singapore Island in phased withdrawals over the next two days.
On January 29, 1942, 210 Royal Marine survivors from Prince of Wales and Repulse, under Royal Marine Captain Bob Lang, join 250 men of Major Angus Rose’s 2nd Argylls to form "Roseforce." They carry out operations using boats to land 140 miles behind Japanese lines. Both detachments are from the Marine Plymouth Division, the composite unit, officially called the Marine Argyll Battalion. Thus, colloquially they become known as the Plymouth Argylls after the English soccer club of that name. Roseforce sets ambushes, destroys vehicles, and kills two senior Japanese staff officers in their cars.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Having pocketed Benghazi, the commander of Panzer Group Africa, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, contemplates his next move. The Axis forces have regained the initiative in North Africa for several reasons, including the British withdrawal of troops from the theater to shore up its Asian possessions against the Japanese and some recent success sending convoys across the Sicilian Strait to Tripoli. Rommel plans to strike quickly, before the end of the month, to take advance of his momentum. He plans to send one armored column along the coastal road toward Tobruk and another further inland to protect its flank. The British, meanwhile, are preparing a major defensive position at Gazala, where the Germans left behind usable fortifications. Some Axis advance elements continue chasing the Indian 4th Division from Benghazi toward Derna, but the majority is concentrated around Msus.
Treasury Class Cutter USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34), sunk by U-132 on 29 January 1942.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-132 (Oblt. Ernst Vogelsang) is on its second patrol out of Trondheim when it torpedoes and sinks 2216-ton US Coast Guard vessel Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34). The torpedo (one of four fired) hits at 13:12 around 20 miles (32 km) west of Reykjavik, Iceland. It takes some time for the ship to sink, but the weather is poor, so attempts to tow the Alexander Hamilton to port are unsuccessful and the Alexander Hamilton founders. There are 26-29 deaths, with about 20 perishing during the sinking and an additional six men dying of wounds after being picked up by an Icelandic fishing trawler. There are 101 survivors who are picked up by destroyer USS Gwin (DD-433). This is the first US Coast Guard vessel lost during World War II.
Reinhard Heydrich, 29 January 1942 (Bauer, Friedrich Franz, Federal Archive Bild 183-B20373). There already are assassins waiting for Heydrich in his new posting as Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia in Operation Anthropoid.
Eastern Front: Although Adolf Hitler wishes to use the recent relief of Sukhinichi as the springboard for further advances that can trap advanced Red Army troops, local commanders have the last say. They abandon Sukhinichi and the Soviets quickly take it.
Damage caused by the Luftwaffe raid on Rosehearty, Scotland, on 29 January 1942.
European Air Operations: A Luftwaffe bomber raids Rosehearty in Scotland at around 18:30. The plane drops five high explosive bombs, damaging the harbor wall, two small boats, and destroying several houses. There are eleven deaths, four women and seven children.
Damage caused by the Luftwaffe raid on Rosehearty, Scotland, on 29 January 1942.
Ecuadorian/Peruvian Relations: The foreign ministers of Ecuador and Peru, Julio Tobar Donoso and Alfredo Solf y Muro, respectively, sign the Rio Protocol (Protocolo de Río de Janeiro). This ends the July 1941 Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, known locally as the War of '41 (Guerra del '41). Militarily, Peru was the winner, taking almost the entire Ecuadorian coastal province of El Oro in addition to some towns in the Andean province of Loja. The Rio Protocol reverses most of those gains in exchange for Ecuador ending its claims for rights to direct land access to the Marañon and Amazon rivers. This gives Peru 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) of hitherto disputed territory in the Maynas region of the Amazonian basin. There also are some other land swaps, with Ecuador ceding 18,552 km² of previously possessed territory to Peru, and Peru ceding 5,072 km² of previously possessed territory to Ecuador.
German emigre conductor Otto Klemperer (father of actor Werner Klemperer) conducts rehearsals of the National Youth's Administration Orchestra on 29 January 1942 that are turned into an album in 2012, "Klemperer Rarities."
In the broadest sense, the Rio Protocol is beneficial to the Allied war effort by helping to unite Latin America and redirect its energies toward less disruptive pursuits. There is a hint of this coming to fruition when Ecuador today also breaks diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, there are hard feelings on both sides, especially in Ecuador. Even as Peruvian forces withdraw in accordance with the terms of the treaty, there are "incidents" in which lives are lost. The Rio Protocol is not fully accepted by the Ecuadorian government itself, which disputes its validity for decades on the grounds that it was obtained by invasion and coercion. Further wars arising from the dispute will erupt in 1981 and 1995 before a definitive (so far, at least) resolution is reached in 1998 with the Brasilia Presidential Act.
A Dr. Seuss cartoon from 29 January 1942 (Mandeville Special Collections Library, UC San Diego). "Mein Early Kampf" by Adolf Hitler, "June 20, 1889: I cut my first tooth on a Bust of Bismarck."
US Military: At Hickam Field in Hawaii, the USAAF Hawaiian Air Force activates the VII Bomber Command in place of the 18th Bombardment Wing.
The US establishes a new war zone, the ANZAC Area. It covers the triangular area between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia in the New Hebrides.
The US military successfully test-fires five-inch (12.7 cm) artillery shells containing new radio-proximity fuses. The test at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, is considered satisfactory when 52% of the fuses fired five miles explode when the near water. The plan is to use the proximity fuses as anti-aircraft ammunition. Production begins immediately.
Japanese Military: Japanese headquarters in Tokyo sets a new strategy in the Southwest Pacific. It orders the Navy to consolidate control of northern New Guinea at Lae and Salamaua, then to open a new campaign in the Solomon Islands by taking Tulagi, a small island north of Guadalcanal which can be used as a seaplane base. Port Moresby, a strategically important point on the southern coast of New Guinea, also is set as an objective. While Port Moresby is not very far from Salamaua as the crow flies, it is much further by ship and separated from the north shore by rugged mountains. Japanese possession of Port Moresby would make an invasion of Australia extremely likely and at the very least would serve as a defensive firewall for Japanese gains further north. The overall goal is to secure the southwest Pacific against recovery by the Allies.
Tempo Magazine, 29 January 1942. "Night war flights."
Australian Government: The Manpower Directorate comes into existence. It enacts measures to match citizens with war needs.
Iran: The Iranian government agrees to the partition of Iran between the Soviet Union and Great Britain for the duration of the conflict. It signs a treaty of alliance which establishes the Persian Corridor, a supply route from the Persian Gulf north to the Soviet Union. The Allied occupation is not entirely popular with the populace, who resent the Soviet Union buying up all of the grain and leading to food shortages. Ultimately, the United States solves the problem by shipping its own grain to Iran while Iranian grain finds its way north to feed the Red Army.
Bing Crosby and others (including Mary Martin) perform on The Kraft Music Hall (NBC) on 29 January 1942. The broadcast is recorded and turned into an album in 1977. Among the songs performed are "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," "Pledge to the Flag," and "Home on the Range" (one of Crosby's signature songs). The show is broadcast by short-wave radio to US troops in the Philippines "by special request of General MacArthur on the Bataan Peninsula."
